A variety of injuries to Pro Bowl players, as well as the Philadelphia Eagles’ and Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl berths and resulting Pro Bowl opt-outs, meant replacements were necessary to fill in the holes from the original rosters.

Here are the updated 2025 Pro Bowl rosters for each conference:

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Updated AFC Pro Bowl roster

Starters are denoted with an asterisk (*).

Quarterbacks:

Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals*
Russell Wilson, Pittsburgh Steelers (replaces Josh Allen)
Drake Maye, New England Patriots (replaces Lamar Jackson)

Running backs:

Derrick Henry, Baltimore Ravens*
Joe Mixon, Houston Texans
Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis Colts

Fullback:

Patrick Ricard, Baltimore Ravens*

Wide receivers:

Ja’Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals*
Jerry Jeudy, Cleveland Browns*
Nico Collins, Houston Texans
Brian Thomas Jr., Jacksonville Jaguars (replaces Zay Flowers)

Tight ends:

Brock Bowers, Las Vegas Raiders*
Jonnu Smith, Miami Dolphins (replaces Travis Kelce)

Offensive tackles:

Dion Dawkins, Buffalo Bills*
Rashawn Slater, Los Angeles Chargers*
Ronnie Stanley, Baltimore Ravens (replaces Laremy Tunsil)

Offensive guards:

Quenton Nelson, Indianapolis Colts*
Joel Bitonio, Cleveland Browns (replaces Joe Thuney)
Isaac Seumalo, Pittsburgh Steelers (replaces Trey Smith)

Center:

Tyler Linderbaum, Baltimore Ravens*
A replacement for Creed Humphrey, if there is one, has not been announced.

Defensive ends:

Myles Garrett, Cleveland Browns*
Trey Hendrickson, Cincinnati Bengals*
Danielle Hunter, Houston Texans (replaces Maxx Crosby)

Interior defensive linemen:

Cameron Heyward, Pittsburgh Steelers*
Nnamdi Madubuike, Baltimore Ravens*
Quinnen Williams, New York Jets (replaces Chris Jones)

Outside linebackers:

Nik Bonitto, Denver Broncos*
Kyle Van Noy, Baltimore Ravens* (replaces T.J. Watt)
Joey Bosa, Los Angeles Chargers (replaces Khalil Mack)

Inside/middle linebackers:

Roquan Smith, Baltimore Ravens*
Zaire Franklin, Indianapolis Colts

Cornerbacks:

Derek Stingley Jr., Houston Texans*
Patrick Surtain II, Denver Broncos*
Marlon Humphrey, Baltimore Ravens
Denzel Ward, Cleveland Browns

Free safety:

Minkah Fitzpatrick, Pittsburgh Steelers*

Strong safety:

Kyle Hamilton, Baltimore Ravens*
Derwin James, Los Angeles Chargers

Long snapper:

Ross Matiscik, Jacksonville Jaguars*

Punter:

Logan Cooke, Jacksonville Jaguars*

Kicker:

Chris Boswell, Pittsburgh Steelers*

Return specialist:

Marvin Mims Jr., Denver Broncos*

Special teamer:

Miles Killebrew, Pittsburgh Steelers* (replaces Brenden Schooler)

Updated NFC Pro Bowl roster

Starters are denoted with an asterisk (*).

Quarterbacks:

Jared Goff, Detroit Lions*
Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders
Sam Darnold, Minnesota Vikings

Running backs:

Jahmyr Gibbs, Detroit Lions*
Josh Jacobs, Green Bay Packers
Bijan Robinson, Atlanta Falcons (replaces Saquon Barkley)

Fullback:

Kyle Juszczyk, San Francisco 49ers

Wide receivers:

Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings*
Terry McLaurin, Washington Commanders*
Malik Nabers, New York Giants (replaces Amon-Ra St. Brown)
Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (replaces CeeDee Lamb)

Tight ends:

George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers*
Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals

Offensive tackles:

Tristan Wirfs, Tampa Bay Buccaneers*
Brian O’Neill, Minnesota Vikings* (replaces Lane Johnson)
Taylor Decker, Detroit Lions (replaces Penei Sewell)

Offensive guards:

Tyler Smith, Dallas Cowboys*
Chris Lindstrom, Atlanta Falcons*
Robert Hunt, Carolina Panthers (replaces Landon Dickerson)

Center:

Frank Ragnow, Detroit Lions*
Erik McCoy, New Orleans Saints (replaces Cam Jurgens)

Defensive ends:

Nick Bosa, San Francisco 49ers*
Micah Parsons, Dallas Cowboys*
Rashan Gary, Green Bay Packers

Interior defensive linemen:

Dexter Lawrence, New York Giants*
Vita Vea, Tampa Bay Buccaneers*
Leonard Williams, Seattle Seahawks (replaces Jalen Carter)

Outside linebackers:

Jonathan Greenard, Minnesota Vikings*
Andrew Van Ginkel, Minnesota Vikings*
Jared Verse, Los Angeles Rams

Inside/middle linebackers:

Fred Warner, San Francisco 49ers*
Bobby Wagner, Washington Commanders (replaces Zack Baun)

Cornerbacks:

Jaylon Johnson, Chicago Bears*
Byron Murphy, Minnesota Vikings*
Jaycee Horn, Carolina Panthers
Devon Witherspoon, Seattle Seahawks

Free safety:

Xavier McKinney, Green Bay Packers*

Strong safety:

Budda Baker, Arizona Cardinals*
Brian Branch, Detroit Lions

Long snapper:

Andrew DePaola, Minnesota Vikings*

Punter:

Jack Fox, Detroit Lions*

Kicker:

Brandon Aubrey, Dallas Cowboys*

Return specialist:

KaVontae Turpin, Dallas Cowboys*

Special teamer:

KhaDarel Hodge, Atlanta Falcons*

When is the Pro Bowl?

Date: Sunday, Feb. 2
Time: 3 – 6 p.m. ET
Location: Orlando, Florida
Venue: Camping World Stadium
How to watch: Disney-owned family of channels (ESPN, ABC, Disney XD, ESPN Deportes), streaming on ESPN+ and NFL+

The weekend of Pro Bowl festivities begins the night of Thursday, Jan. 30 with ‘skills showdowns.’ Three days later, the skills competitions continue in the afternoon before the weekend culminates in the AFC vs. NFC 7-on-7 flag football game.

They come from all walks of life across the baseball landscape, from the Dominican Republic to Southern California to Alabama.

They are All-Stars with prestigious awards and accomplishments, despite little time in the major leagues.

They are kids really – none older than 23 – with a total of just four years of major-league experience, but already are considered the faces of their franchises.

Together, shortstop Elly De La Cruz of the Cincinnati Reds, shortstop Gunnar Henderson of the Baltimore Orioles and pitcher Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates are now the faces of MLB The Show 25, with the young and uber-talented trio gracing the cover on the 20th anniversary of the popular baseball video game.

“I was so excited, and so grateful,’ De La Cruz tells USA TODAY Sports. “That’s something that almost every player in the big leagues wanted. People back home are going to be so excited.

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“They’re going to go crazy when the news comes out.’

De La Cruz grew up playing the video game, always picking Derek Jeter and the Yankees, and met the Hall of Famer for the first time at last year’s All-Star Game.

While De La Cruz regularly plays The Show, which debuted when he was only 4 years old, and Henderson games with teammates and friends from back home, Skenes admits he’s not personally into baseball games.

While Skenes played Fortnite for hours at a time last spring to ease his boredom, and played MLB The Show one night in September with teammates – building a dynasty with the Pirates – he concedes he rarely plays video games these days.

“I never had a PlayStation growing up, and I stopped playing video games when I was nine or 10,’ Skenes said. “I definitely see the value in it and all, and I have nothing against the game, but when I’m not playing baseball I don’t want to think about baseball.’

Skenes laughs, remembering his two years at the Air Force Academy when he’d be so exhausted he could barely crawl into bed, let alone stay up and play video games. But now, to be on the cover, well, it’s a privilege he doesn’t take lightly.

“It’s a cool thing, and a huge honor,’ Skenes says, “especially sharing this with those guys. I met those guys at the All-Star Game last year, which was really cool, and then sharing this with them is great, and to have this connection with them early in our careers.’

This is the first time since the The Show debuted in 2006 that it has had multiple players on its cover. Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2022, was the first athlete on the cover.

“Historically, we’ve chosen a single cover athlete for MLB The Show,’ said Todd Liss, Group Manager, Global Marketing MLB The Show. “We’ve been lucky enough to partner with some of the biggest players on the planet. With the unprecedented young talent coming into the league, we wanted to represent the current climate of baseball and showcase it on our cover.

“Not only are Elly, Paul and Gunnar young guns, but they’re doing unbelievable things on the field and fans have noticed. These three players are changing what’s possible in baseball, so it’s only fair we change how many players can be on the cover of The Show.’

Henderson, who has been playing video games since he can remember, still can’t believe he’s going to be on the cover. He vividly remembers seeing Ken Griffey Jr., Andrew McCutchen and Bryce Harper gracing the covers over the years, and now he’s in the same fraternity.

“That’s why I’m so excited because growing up I played The Show, and seeing all of the different athletes on the cover,’ Henderson says. “I always thought that would be something cool to do, and just to have this opportunity is really special.

“It’s definitely a top-five honor for me just because of the nature of it and the fact that me and all of my friends back home played the game when we were younger. So, to kind of share it with them is going to be pretty cool.’

Henderson, who won the 2023 AL Rookie of the Year award, still plays almost nightly during the season, simply to wind down after games with teammates, also playing Call of Duty and Apex Legends. He gets a kick out of his childhood buddies letting him know they’re playing as him in The Show.

It was late in the season, Henderson says, when he was first contacted and asked whether he had interest in being on the cover. He didn’t hesitate. Neither did Skenes or De La Cruz.

“I was super pumped up,’ Henderson says. “I mean it’s really cool being able to be on that because it’s definitely going to be something that I hold near and dear to me, because I pretty much played video games my whole life.

“And now, to be able to be on the cover of a really big-time game is really cool.’

It wasn’t necessarily by design, but none of the three players on the video cover are from a large-market team. The Reds and Pirates are two of the smallest markets in baseball, with each having payrolls that ranked in the bottom 10 last season.

“You know, through social media and all of that,’ Skenes says, “there’s almost no such thing as a small-market team because everybody has their eyes on everything. It’s cool to share a cover with them, to know where the game is going.

“Good players are getting recognized no matter where they’re playing.’

Said Liss: “When we choose a cover athlete, we’re not just looking at their name, their stats, or how popular they are. We’re looking at what interesting stories they can tell. Every player is unique, and we try and translate that throughout everything we do. Gunnar, Elly and Paul all have unique and exciting roads to the show, which lined up perfectly with a key component of this year’s game.’

De La Cruz grew up in Sabana Grande de Boya, Dominican Republic, the youngest of nine kids. He signed as an international free agent with the Reds in 2018, receiving only a $65,000 signing bonus. Today, he’s one of the most electrifying players in the game, with his speed, power and arm strength. He’s ranked along with Bobby Witt Jr as the fastest player in the game, with the best arm strength by an infielder, according to Statcast. He hit 25 homers and stole 67 bases last season, becoming the first shortstop in history to hit at least 20 homers and steal 60 or more bases in a season.

Henderson grew up in Selma, Ala., and was the best high school player in the state when he was drafted in the second round in 2019, receiving a $2.3 million signing bonus. He is already is considered one of the finest all-around shortstops in the game, hitting 37 homers with an .893 OPS last season.

Skenes grew up in Fullerton, Calif., and attended the Air Force Academy where he was a catcher and a pitcher, winning the John Olerud Award presented to the best two-way player in collegiate baseball. He transferred to LSU after his sophomore season, was selected the national pitcher of the year, and selected first in the amateur draft by the Pirates, receiving a $9.2 million signing bonus. Last season, he became the first pitcher to start the All-Star Game a year after being drafted, easily won the NL Rookie of the Year award and finished third in the Cy Young balloting.

“When you’re in college, you don’t hang out, you don’t fraternize with any of the other teams,’ Skenes says. “In the big leagues, you see them so often, it’s different. And now kind of sharing this with them, it’s another thing to talk about hopefully when we’re facing each other for the next 10, 15 years down the line.’

They’ll forever be linked as three of the youngest and brightest stars in the game, not only for their accomplishments on the field, but now off the field, too.

“MLB is entering this dynamic era with electric young talent coming up and making immediate franchise level impact,’ Liss said. ‘Elly, Paul and Gunnar are three of the many reasons why it’s a great time to be a baseball fan.’

And this trio is excited for their fans.

“I think you’re going to see a lot of kids buy the game,’ De La Cruz says. “You’ll see them buy a lot here [in the Dominican Republic] because they always support me. That’s why I’m so honored to be a part of this.’

“I can’t wait.’

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The rap beef that dominated headlines in 2024 is about to get a Super Bowl spotlight.

Kendrick Lamar’s headlining performance at this year’s Super Bowl halftime show is also expected to add another chapter to his long-running feud with Drake. The two traded allegations and insults in diss tracks last spring, part of a very public escalation in hostility between two high-profile hip-hop artists that culminated with Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’ becoming a No. 1 smash hit last May and a federal lawsuit about the song filed this month by Drake.

Lamar appears set to feature ‘Not Like Us’ at halftime when the Philadelphia Eagles face the Kansas City Chiefs on Feb. 9 despite the pending litigation. FOX used an instrumental version of the song in the background of promos for the Super Bowl halftime show during the NFC championship game. It is likely to thrust the issues between Drake and Lamar, which has roots dating back at least a decade, back into the national conversation during the biggest television event in the country.

So what happens during Lamar’s halftime show performance might carry as much intrigue as the football game at Super Bowl 59. Here’s what to know about the beef between Drake and Kendrick Lamar before Lamar takes the stage at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, including a timeline of events:

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Drake-Kendrick Lamar feud timeline: How their beef started

There is a certain cinematic quality to how the conflict developed between Kendrick Lamar and Drake, with their relationship gradually evolving from collaborators to rivals to enemies over the past 15 years. Here’s a recap of events that pushed these stars to this point:

2011: Lamar was featured on Drake’s song, ‘Buried Alive Interlude.’
2012: Lamar served as an opening act for Drake on the 2012 Club Paradise tour. By October 2012, Drake had also appeared on Kendrick Lamar’s debut album for the hit song, ‘Poetic Justice.’
August 2013: Lamar called out several big name hip-hop artists, most notably Drake, during a guest verse on ‘Control’ by rapper Big Sean. A few months later, at the 2013 BET Hip-Hop Awards, Lamar seemed to subtly take another shot at Drake during a freestyle rap as part of the show.
December 2013: Drake discussed ‘Control’ in an interview with Vibe Magazine: “Where it became an issue is that I was rolling out an album while that verse was still bubbling, so my album rollout became about this thing. What am I supposed to say? Nah, we’ll be buddy-buddy? Mind you, I never once said he’s a bad guy [or] I don’t like him. I think he’s a … genius in his own right, but I also stood my ground as I should.’
November 2014: In the midst of increasing speculation that he and Drake were at odds, Lamar insisted there was no beef between the two. ‘It wasn’t no issue from the jump,’ Lamar said in an interview on The Breakfast Club. ‘I think people talk about beef … it’s just a whole ‘nother dynamic. I can’t see myself going bar for bar with Drake. We’re two different types of artists.’
July 2015: Fellow rapper Meek Mill accused Drake of using ghostwriters, which shined renewed attention on the previously released Kendrick Lamar single, ‘King Kunta,’ from his 2015 album, ‘To Pimp a Butterfly.’ The lyrics included a reference to a rapper with a ghostwriter.
January 2016: President Barack Obama was asked whether Lamar or Drake would win in a rap battle. Obama said Lamar and praised ‘To Pimp a Butterfly’ as the best album of 2015. Drake responded to Obama in ‘Summer Sixteen,’ a song that included the line, ‘Tell Obama that my verses are just like the whips that he in – they bulletproof.’

Drake-Kendrick Lamar beef timeline: Why the feud escalated

The simmering feud between Lamar and Drake moved to the periphery of the mainstream hip-hop conversation for the next five years, though several songs released by Lamar during that time included lyrics that were construed as subtle digs directed toward Drake. It wasn’t until 2023 that their problems resurfaced in a dramatic way that would captivate the music world and beyond.

October 2023: Drake teams up with J. Cole for the hit song, ‘First person shooter.’ Includes a verse by J. Cole in which the rapper proclaims he, Drake and Lamar to be the ‘big three’ of the modern rap game and proclaims himself Muhammed Ali.
March 22, 2024: Lamar responded to the notion of a big three during an appearance on the song, ‘Like that,’ by Metro Boomin and Future, rapping that ‘it’s just big me.’
April 19, 2024: Drake officially releases two diss tracks in response to Lamar: ‘Push Ups’ and ‘Taylor Made Freestyle.’ In the former, the Canadian star names multiple current rappers he believes to be better than Lamar. For the latter, Drake used A.I. vocals to rap in the voices of Tupac Shakur and Snoop Dogg – who Lamar considers two of his biggest influences – and criticized Lamar further. Drake eventually had to remove the song from his social media accounts after Shakur’s estate threatened to sue.
April 30, 2024: Kendrick Lamar responded with ‘Euphoria,’ a six-minute diss track directed at Drake.
May 3, 2024: Lamar drops another diss track, ‘6:16 in LA,’ via Instagram. Drake responded later that day with ‘Family Matters,’ accusing Lamar of being unfaithful and guilty of domestic violence in his relationship with fiancée Whitney Alford. He also alleged that one of Lamar’s children biologically belongs to Lamar’s friend and business associate, Dave Free. Minutes later, Lamar struck back again with ‘Meet the Grahams’ – Drake’s legal name is Aubrey Graham – in which Lamar claimed Drake is concealing a daughter. He also made reference to potential sex trafficking and pedophilia by either Drake or his associates.
May 4, 2024: The feud reached new heights once Lamar released, ‘Not Like Us,’ less than 24 hours after ‘Meet the Grahams.’ The song made clear Lamar called Drake a ‘certified pedophile’ and the accompanying artwork for the track contained an aerial view of Drake’s mansion outside of Toronto, with red sex offender symbols placed on the home.
May 6, 2024: Drake responded with “The Heart Pt. 6” in which he denied Lamar’s accusations of pedophilia and sex trafficking and claims to have fed Lamar the information about an alleged daughter.
May 13, 2024: Lamar’s “Not Like Us” debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. “Euphoria” was also No. 3 for the week.
June 19, 2024: Lamar gives the first live performance of ‘Not Like Us” at his one-off Juneteenth concert, The Pop Off, at Kia Forum outside Los Angeles. Rick Ross, The Weeknd, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, DeMar DeRozan and James Harden were among those in attendance. Lamar opened his set with ‘Euphoria’ and memorably performed ‘Not Like Us’ five times in a row during the encore.
July 4, 2024: Lamar released the music video for ‘Not Like Us,’ which included Lamar hitting an owl piñata in reference to the logo of Drake’s OVO brand.
September 8, 2024: Kendrick Lamar was named headlining performance for the Super Bowl 59 halftime show.

Drake-Kendrick Lamar lawsuit, explained

The feud between Drake and Kendrick Lamar reached its legal stage in November when attorneys representing a company owned by Drake filed a motion in New York accusing Universal Music Group (UMG) and Spotify of inflating the streams for ‘Not Like Us’ through bots and other questionable tactics. Drake then filed a second motion in Texas alleging UMG engaged in a ‘pay-to-play’ scheme and committed defamation by allowing Lamar’s song to be released. Drake and Lamar both have distribution deals with UMG, which subsequently denied the allegations.

By January, Drake’s attorneys dropped those legal actions and filed a federal lawsuit in the Southern District of New York aimed at UMG, according to court documents obtained by USA TODAY. It accused UMG of ‘corporate greed’ in their promotion of the Lamar song, which alleges that Drake is a ‘certified pedophile.’ The filing states that Drake was targeted by armed intruders at his Toronto home and had to remove his son and his son’s mother from Toronto as a result of the song’s popularity.

‘UMG wants the public to believe that this is a fight between rappers, but this lawsuit is not brought against Kendrick Lamar.  This lawsuit reveals the human and business consequences to UMG’s elevation of profits over the safety and well-being of its artists, and shines a light on the manipulation of artists and the public for corporate gain,’ Drake’s legal team wrote in a statement to USA TODAY.

How to watch Super Bowl halftime show 2025

The Super Bowl 59 halftime is slated to occur on Sunday, February 9, at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. It will be broadcast nationally on FOX between the end of the second quarter and the beginning of the third quarter of the football game.

Date: Sunday, Feb. 9
TV: FOX
Time: 6:30 p.m. ET (Super Bowl start time)
Streaming: Fox Sports app, Fubo (free trial)
Location: Caesars Superdome (New Orleans)

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There’s a slight change at the top in our latest edition of bracketology. Two SEC squads still project as No. 1 regional seeds, but it is now Alabama joining Auburn on the first line.

But fret not, Tennessee fans which saw their team drop after a loss to Auburn. The Volunteers remain a solid second seed along with yet another SEC member, Florida, and both will have ample opportunities for quality wins in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, Duke and Iowa State continue to project as No. 1’s along with the Tigers and Crimson Tide. Marquette and Michigan State are well positioned as No. 2 seeds, with Houston moving up to a No. 3.

Most of you are familiar with the nuances of bracketology after nearly four decades of true March Madness, but here are a couple of reminders as you examine this projection. For now, conference leaders in one-bid leagues are considered to be in the field even though the actual bids will go to the tournament champ at season’s end. Also, the NCAA’s NET rankings change on a daily basis, meaning results might gain or lose value between now and Selection Sunday.

Bracketology: Projecting the NCAA tournament field

Last four in

Ohio State, San Diego State, North Carolina, Central Florida.

Last four out

Wake Forest, SMU, Arizona State, Brigham Young.

NCAA Tournament bids conference breakdown

Multi-bid leagues: SEC (13), Big Ten (9), Big 12 (8), ACC (5), Big East (4), Mountain West (2), West Coast (2).

Gabby Thomas is as smart as she is fast, a three-time Olympic champion sprinter who graduated from Harvard and then went on to get a master’s in epidemiology. Yet over the weekend, racist trolls flooded her X page with nasty comments belittling her intelligence and achievements.

This is what X has become: a toxic cesspool whose owner embraces, encourages and amplifies the very worst of humanity.

And it ought to be a blaring warning to the NFL, NBA, college athletics and all the other folks in the sports world who are ignoring the alternative to it.

Ordinarily hyper-sensitive to their images and petrified of anything that could threaten them, most teams, leagues and athletes are blithely continuing to use X despite the looming PR nightmare. They don’t seem to realize that as Elon Musk does more and more awful things, and X degrades further and further, it’s their follow counts and reputations that will take the hit.

I doubt the NBA wants porn ads adjacent to its account. Or members of the Proud Boys liking its highlight videos. I can only imagine the heartburn NFL commissioner Roger Goodell felt when he saw Musk make Nazi jokes on the same platform where the league has its largest social media presence and then, two days before Holocaust Remembrance Day, suggest the German people should just “move beyond” their “past guilt” over the atrocities of World War II.

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But this is what they are choosing. And given the skyrocketing number of people who are opting for Bluesky, it is most definitely a choice.

Bluesky defangs trolls. Musk feeds, waters and walks them twice a day.

“The value of Bluesky to athletes is that, because it’s moderated, players can engage and talk to their fans, without being overwhelmed by idiots,” Mark Cuban, the former owner of the Dallas Mavericks who has become a Bluesky enthusiast, said in an email. 

“Bluesky with moderation allows leagues, brands, players, celebs to engage with fans,” Cuban wrote. “I see it every day. The quality ratio is about 90 pct on Bluesky vs about 50 pct or less on X.”  

Yet the NWSL is the only one of the major professional sports leagues to be actively using Bluesky. According to Sportico, the NFL and NBA only operate on platforms where they have agreements, which often include financial incentives, and they do not have ones with Bluesky. The WNBA and NBA at least allow their teams to have Bluesky accounts; the NFL does not.

It’s hard to abandon social media sites where you’ve built up significant followings, as the leagues, their broadcasters and many athletes have on X. The NBA has almost 48 million followers on X; the NFL has 37 million. LeBron James has almost 53 million followers on X; Patrick Mahomes has 2.6 million.

It’s also hard to abandon it when X continues to be where people make news. (Full disclosure: I still have an X account solely for that reason, using the alert function so I can see what people I cover post.)

But as more and more people move to Bluesky, including sports influencers like Pat McAfee, Mina Kimes, Ian Rapoport and Monica McNutt, there’s an opening for the leagues to replicate that fan base.

Bluesky reached 20 million users in mid-November, tripling its userbase in just three months. It was nearing 30 million by Monday afternoon.

“I think the only missing pieces for Bluesky are real-time news and scores, which is rapidly being added, and a few verticals,” Cuban said. “I think that changes over time.”

The beauty of Twitter was as a second-screen community, allowing fans to interact, get additional information and, eventually, get replays. It was like watching the game from a broadcast control room with all of your closest friends. That was missing from Bluesky initially, but it’s gaining steam.

When the refs robbed the Buffalo Bills of a first down on Josh Allen’s QB sneak early in the fourth quarter, the reaction on Bluesky was reminiscent of Twitter in the old days.

“As it grows, it will only be increasingly valuable,” Cuban said. “The social media space has bifurcated into unmoderated vs. moderated. It sure looks like most people prefer moderation and a less hateful site.” 

And as Musk and X increasingly lean into their worst tendencies, that will only pick up pace.

The Guardian and Le Monde, France’s paper of record, have already stopped posting on X. After Musk’s hand gesture that sure looked like a Nazi salute at last week’s inauguration, moderators of the NFL, NBA, Formula 1 and soccer communities on Reddit banned links to X.

“We have reached this decision after taking recent events and strong sentiment from our community into account,’ the /r/NBA moderators said in a post. ‘While we try our best to stay neutral and apolitical, we do not believe taking a stance against Nazi symbolism is or should be a political issue. Hate speech and the promotion of it has never been tolerated in our community.”

Social media is supposed to be fun and informative, a way to reach people you otherwise wouldn’t. When it becomes a haven for white supremacists, neo-Nazis and others who don’t value democracy or diversity, it’s time to leave.

Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.

In a recent video from the Buckeyes’ sideline, the play might’ve been Emeka Egbuka’s idea. Egbuka noticed Fighting Irish defensive back Christian Gray was playing Smith with inside leverage, and recommended throwing a go route to Smith to attack the coverage.

The rest is history, as Gray gave the exact coverage Ohio State was looking for, and Howard delivered a perfect pass to the star true freshman.

The video was first included in a recap video posted by Ohio State football on X but was clipped and featured more prominently by multiple social media accounts.

Egbuka, a fourth-year senior who declared for the 2025 NFL Draft, finished his final season with 81 receptions for 1,011 yards with 10 touchdowns to raise his career total to 205 catches (Ohio State record) for 2,868 yards with 24 touchdowns across four seasons.

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The former five-star recruit is considered one of the best slot receivers in the upcoming draft, and could hear his name called as early as the first round in April.

His apparent ability to anticipate play calls could certainly play in his favor with NFL scouts moving forward.

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